Saving Place: 50 Years of New York City Landmarks

By Rene Events

Detail, Astor Place. Image © Iwan Baan

Detail, Astor Place. Image © Iwan Baan

Many believe New York’s pioneering Landmarks Law, enacted in April 1965, was the key factor in the rebirth of New York in the final quarter of the 20th century. It fostered pride in neighborhoods and resulted in neighborhood preservation in every borough, connecting and motivating residents and bringing new economic life to older communities. It ensured that huge swaths of the city remain a rich complex of new and old. It also ensured the creative re-use of countless buildings. At the same time, a new body of important architecture has emerged as architects, clients, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission devised innovative solutions for the renovation of landmark buildings and for new buildings in historic districts. The law spawned creativity in architects’ responses to building preservation that has enhanced the cityscape in all five boroughs.

Presented to celebrate the law’s 50th anniversary, Saving Place is organized by Donald Albrecht, the City Museum’s Curator of Architecture and Design and Andrew S. Dolkart, the Director of the Historic Preservation Program at Columbia University, with consulting curator Seri Worden, currently a consultant with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Exhibition Co-chairs: Frederick Bland, Jim Hanley, Hugh Hardy, William Higgins, John J. Kerr, Esq., Richard Olcott, Raymond Pepi, Frank Sciame

Honorary Chairs: Kent Barwick, Laurie Beckelman, Gene Norman, Sherida Paulsen, Jennifer Raab, Beverly Moss Spatt, Meenakshi Srinivasan, Robert B. Tierney


131 and 135 Hicks Street, Brooklyn Heights, 1940. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Photo Archives
131 and 135 Hicks Street, Brooklyn Heights, 1940. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Photo Archives

Carnegie Hall, 1895. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Byron Company Collection
Carnegie Hall, 1895. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Byron Company Collection

St. John's Chapel being demolished, 1918. Image © Courtesy American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society/Metropolitan History
St. John’s Chapel being demolished, 1918. Image © Courtesy American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society/Metropolitan History

West 153rd Street, 2014. Image © Iwan Baan
West 153rd Street, 2014. Image © Iwan Baan

Washington Street with Manhattan Bridge, 2014. Image © Iwan Baan
Washington Street with Manhattan Bridge, 2014. Image © Iwan Baan

Demolition of Pennyslvania Station, 1964-65. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Aaron Rose
Demolition of Pennyslvania Station, 1964-65. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Aaron Rose

Irving Underwood, New York Post Office, 1902. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Anthony C. Wood
Irving Underwood, New York Post Office, 1902. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Anthony C. Wood

Dyckman House after restoration, 1942. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Wurts Bros. Collection
Dyckman House after restoration, 1942. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Wurts Bros. Collection

Sylvan Terrace, 2014. Image © Iwan Baan
Sylvan Terrace, 2014. Image © Iwan Baan

Ziegfeld Theatre, 1927. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Wurts Bros. Collection
Ziegfeld Theatre, 1927. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Wurts Bros. Collection

Mayor Robert F. Wagner signing the landmarks law, 1965. Image © Margot Gayle, courtesy the New York Preservation Archive Project
Mayor Robert F. Wagner signing the landmarks law, 1965. Image © Margot Gayle, courtesy the New York Preservation Archive Project

Jefferson Market Branch, New York Public Library (originally Jefferson Market Courthouse), 2014. Image © Iwan Baan
Jefferson Market Branch, New York Public Library (originally Jefferson Market Courthouse), 2014. Image © Iwan Baan

Church and Music Hall at Sailors' Snug Harbor, 1899. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Byron Company Collection
Church and Music Hall at Sailors’ Snug Harbor, 1899. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Byron Company Collection

Demolition of Pennyslvania Station, 1964-65. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Aaron Rose
Demolition of Pennyslvania Station, 1964-65. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Aaron Rose

TWA Flight Center (JFK Airport, Queens), c. 1978. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Blair Davis
TWA Flight Center (JFK Airport, Queens), c. 1978. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Blair Davis

St. Patrick's Cathedral, 2014. Image © Iwan Baan
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, 2014. Image © Iwan Baan

Simon Benepe, Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House (restored), 1988. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Photo Archives
Simon Benepe, Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House (restored), 1988. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Photo Archives

Demolition of Pennyslvania Station, 1964-65. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Aaron Rose
Demolition of Pennyslvania Station, 1964-65. Image © Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Aaron Rose

Grand Central Terminal, 2014. Image © Iwan Baan
Grand Central Terminal, 2014. Image © Iwan Baan

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